Double header of volleyball and basketball made for a fun afternoon in River Forest!!! Close to the West Cook YMCA. Student section is always live and supportive! It did not disappoint. Thank you! read more

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The education at this school is the equivalent if not worse than community college. I am a freshman Nursing major who plays tennis so our program is one of the few that is a good investment for the school due to clinical connections as early as sophomore year, but as far as the price that students who dorm have to pay, it is extremely far from worth it. Community colleges where you can complete your prerequisites like College of Dupage, Triton, or Chicago colleges would have been more beneficial to save money. I was expecting more student involvement and local organizations and activities, but it has dimmed my personal campus life aside from playing a sport. This school places a big emphasis on sports recruitment and it is primarily the reason why I am here along with the Nursing program, but diversity, sense of community, and campus events are lacking innovation or a truer sense of university life. It is a Lutheran college with closeted beliefs so I feel like I am being put in a bubble. I am Catholic so spiritually it is not far off, but it is not what I intend to practice. I was initially going to attend UIC but because they seldom direct admit, I would have to do pre-requisites and reapply sophomore year. I am planning to transfer after the spring semester to local universities with better diversity, student organizations, and better prices (where it is worth taking out a loan). The only good majors at this school are Nursing, Music, Theology, or Education. The gen-eds are so easy they are comparable to high school courses. read more

Excellent university! I'm proud to have finished a degree there. The class room sizes are small and the staff and teachers were very helpful. Just a good Christian school. read more

In a nutshell, this school is deceitful... I decided to go into the school counseling field for graduate school, which was a complete 180 from the Business degree I earned as an undergrad. I did my research to see which schools offered the program in the Chicagoland area. Not many schools do, so I didn't have to do a whole lot of narrowing down. At the end of 2012, I contacted recruiters from 3 schools and finally decided to go with Concordia, mostly for financial reasons. The recruiter from Concordia was friendly and guided me through every step of the way. I completed at least 10 pages worth of essay question answers and did other paperwork. The GRE was not required, which was nice, but also kind of fishy to me since the other schools I reached out to required it. Shortly thereafter, I received an acceptance letter! I started 2013 off as a first year Concordia grad student. I spent one year in total at Concordia (5 classes). My professors were very knowledgeable and despite being at a religious institution, courses didn't seem biased. It wasn't long after entering the program that I learned of Concordia losing their accreditation. A serious matter that was NEVER mentioned to me by my recruiter or by faculty prior to taking classes. It wasn't until I began the school year that STUDENTS began questioning the professors about the loss, which is how it came to my attention. In fact, professors tried to dumb down the problem, stating it wasn't a big deal and that schools hiring weren't requiring the CACREP accreditation - WRONG!! More and more schools ARE looking for counselors who come from accredited programs. Obviously, this was being told to students out of interest (no students = no job for professors). The incident was so serious that the cohort that was about to graduate just as the accreditation was lost is now SUING the school for tuition and loss of time. Something I believe each and every one of them is entitled to since they entered the program accredited and believed they would graduate from an accredited program. Somehow, I was the ONLY person in my cohort that was alarmed by this notion and decided almost right away that it was time to transfer elsewhere for the remainder of my Masters. I'm still bitter about the fact that no one was honest with me about this from the beginning. After I completed that year, I took the GRE and was accepted into an accredited school. No more paying private school tuition for a non-accredited program. Fuck that noise. Completing necessary paperwork and taking time to study for the GRE made me lose a semester that could have been spent in the classroom, learning. Thankfully, the school I'm at now allowed me to transfer 3 of my 5 classes, so it wasn't a total loss. And I do miss my cohort - they were all wonderful people and I hope they don't run into an issues when it's time to find a job (although, chances are they that will, but almost all of them had teaching degrees to fall back on). Concordia recruiters need to be more HONEST when it comes to their programs. Stop leading people in blindingly. Beware! read more

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So, CONcordia, how do I begin? Overall, I would not suggest this school to any person that has a busy schedule, is working and going to school, and cannot figure the whole administrative process of this school on their own. I went to school here to get my MA in Teaching and I will tell you that it has been a nightmare since the first day I set foot in the building for my cohort. When I started at the school I was part of a cohort that met about 5 miles away from my workplace when I was previously told that I would only have to travel three miles. Ok, I'm a pretty easy-going, "go with the flow" kind of guy so whatever--I stuck with it. Once, I got into the building for my cohort I noticed that the building was extremely unkempt and in bad need of repair. The principal of the school was also a custodial worker. I began to question why I was paying so much money for such a dilapidated and disheveled looking building. I figured I could look past that too--you know "can't judge a book" and all that stuff. I really was turned off, however, when I came to class at my cohort building one day and noticed a distinct and very present smell of gas. Yep, that's right, the building had to be closed because there was a gas main leak in the building. So at this point I'm asking my instructor if they are going to move us to another building because this facility obviously was not going to cut it. He said that the university had not given him any indication that we were to move and we remained in that building until the school closed the next year. Now, if someone were to tell me that I would be taking master's classes but they had to be in these somewhat unkempt buildings I would be okay with it but the fun didn't end there. The instruction at many times was extremely lackluster and completely simplistic. I would many times miss several classes and still get A's in all my classes. I was bored and I really got tired of the lecture approach that is so common in higher education. Many times I would find myself questioning the motives of the instructors that taught my classes--were they there for the extra paycheck or did they really care about the education of teachers passionate about teaching in an urban setting? One of my instructors spent most of the time using the class as her personal soap box whereby she would constantly rant about the happenings of her day at the elementary school that she worked at. I will tell you that I found that class rather entertaining but, once again, there was no challenge to her curriculum and her class was a complete j-o-k-e. Some instructors weren't as bold in displaying their lack of instructional experience but when I would correct them regarding reading strategies appropriate for elementary students (that were in our textbook), I knew something was wrong. What completely rounds off my experience with CONcordia University is the complete lack of administrative organization. Many times I was the one making several calls and follow-up calls regarding financial aid, student records, and the like. Every time I called it was always the same thing--several different answers from different people regarding the same question, workers not following through, advisors not calling me back, and the list goes on. Now I understand that I am ultimately responsible for keeping my house in order but at the same time shouldn't the university be responsible for answering my questions in a consistent manner? Shouldn't the university be responsible for clearly outlining the responsibilities of the student? Many times I would have to go into the university to actually get something done. Phone calls never worked for me, nor them. So, if you have all the time in the world to run around playing catch up to the CONcordia Adminstrative Riddle Game, are looking for a pedistrian curriculum, and wouldn't mind being treated as a means to an end for the pocket books of the faculty at large, feel free to attend this university. read more

Well, I'm back at Concordia for another MA cohort (Reading and Literacy/Type 10) after Lewis U didn't have enough students to complete their promise of a cohort in the area. Some of the original "downsides" from my previous review remain: some professors really aren't great teachers, and as a result the learning isn't what it should have been. The professor for my first two classes is a reading specialist (elementary), she really struggled to explain what she expected as far as process and product of assignments and assessments. One of the biggest struggles half of my class had was that she could not differentiate her instruction well and offer examples that translated to the upper grades (middle and high school). I asked more than 4 times if she had a certain type of resource/reference material, and she told me no such thing existed; later, a classmate provided me with the reference material I was searching for. THEN the professor provided the entire class with the reference materials I had originally been asking for. She also did not know her syllabus well, and when questioned about some things, indicated that it was not a syllabus she created herself. In contrast, the professor from my third (last) class was phenomenal: she was very knowledgeable and always walked us through (unsolicited) what she expected as far as process and product. She was also a tough grader, which I appreciated; I want to be assessed accurately, not just given an "A" because I'm in a graduate program and/or the professor is overwhelmed by the amount of assignments and therefore resorts to slapping an "A" on everything. I felt the assignments from the third professor were meaningful, and the final product she assigned is something that will be useful. It seems turnover rate for personnel is higher than I expected; in my current cohort we were already given a new faculty advisor less than two classes in after our first one seemed to drop off the face of the earth (didn't show up for an appointment she made with us before a cohort session). This happened in my first cohort, too. The biggest perks are the location (convenience) and the tuition is affordable. There is no GRE requirement like some competing universities in the area. I do like the fact that you get to know your peers in the cohort setting; even when the professor isn't great, there's comfort in knowing others share your pain. I start another class tonight; it remains to be seen if this review can maintain 4 stars.. read more

This university really needs to do better integrating more resources and help for students with families/children as well as minority students. They have a whole daycare center that is so costly that not even staff or students can afford to place their children to further their educational goals...mind you it is totally backwards to cater to the community but don't cater to your students...they also need a better representation for minority students and or diverse students. I also personally feel they need better resources for difficult courses like physics, statistics, and other high level math courses...for some reason they don't always have the best tutoring options and the instructors don't cater very well to the students who need assistance in higher level chemistry/math/physics...the typical student that succeeds here stays on campus, does not have children and does not have a job off campus... read more

This place doesn't even deserve one star... So I started the clinical mental health masters program, and then went to the internship. I started and everything, met with the supervisor one a week to check in, and at no point did she say anything negative. so 2 weeks away from the end of the winter semester in December, she sent an email to the Professor to complain about whatever. Eventually, they both went behind my back, didn't bother to met with me and gave me a failing grade for both the internship and the class. Needless to say, I could not complete the program, because financial aid would not disburse anymore funds, and I could not afford out of pocket. I was one semester away from completing the internship and then graduate. And I have no degree. But the saying goes..... Karma is a bitch.... And one day it will catch up to both of them....... read more

Enter this school with caution!!!!! CONcordia University does little to properly educate students, all the while scamming money from students. The billing department at Concordia has scammed many students out of money claiming they have not paid off student loans even if they were paid. They will withhold transcripts until you pay them again and again. The actions that I have endured by this school are disgusting. read more

................( counting down the months when this is over)...the financial department is insane...nobody explains anything or helps you..but they bring up and create multiple problems for you....frustrating read more

Age and becoming a dad has mellowed me. Concordia was a great place to learn, its in a beautiful neighborhood that is very safe. Also, you have great access to your professors. I've also made numerous life-long friends there. read more

Looking back at my grad school experience - not so bad as my last review. Classes were pretty easy, and I actually did learn a lot. They finally have some good professors in there, and I think they have the cohorts figured out (it was a scheduling mess when they started them in 07). The employees in the registrar's office have definitely improved, and have been very easy to work with in getting my license and certification paperwork done. read more

I received my M.A in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Concordia. I absolutely loved the program. Dr. Ramos and Dr. Espinosa were the best professors. They did an amazing job of preparing our cohort to be counselors. My only complaint was the program was too long, but I hear they are taking steps to make shorten it. read more

I Received both of my Degrees from Concordia and it has enabled me to become very successful in my career thus far.

Don't waste your money and your time. I found the experience and the institution to be very unorganized and dishonest. They do not care about good customer service and they are very impersonal. They only want your money. I cannot imagine I would receive a quality education from such an institution. The following is why I feel this way. I applied to two programs for my graduate degree, Concordia and another university. I wanted more information from Concordia, so I tried to ask the admissions person I had been dealing with. She was not very knowledgable or helpful. She wouldn't address all of the questions I asked in her email responses. I asked pretty clear and direct questions. Then I asked if I could make an appointment on campus to ask more questions in person, since I wasn't satisfied with the email responses. I was hoping to meet with the director of the program or a faculty member. Her response was that she could meet with me. I was hoping maybe she would be better at answering my questions in person, so I agreed to meet with her. Instead, long story short, I had to sit through a useless presentation about a graduate program, different from the one I applied for, in order to even get a chance to speak with her. It was a waste of my time and my night. Then when I was able to speak with her it was very rushed and I didn't learn more about the program. Having me sit through the presentation was obviously a ploy to get another person there because there were only 3 other people besides myself. I left feeling frustrated and annoyed. After that experience I wasn't really too interested in talking to anyone else at Concordia. I had pretty much made up my mind to go with the other program. However, the frustration did not end there. I received an acceptance letter in writing from the other university and I decided to accept to their program. In the meantime, I did not receive any notification from Concordia that I was accepted. I was waiting for the letter and then I was going to call to tell Concordia that I decided to go to a different graduate program. It never came, but what did come instead was a bill for my tuition for the spring semester from Concordia! Seriously?! I called them and said that I am not attending and they cannot enroll me in classes without notifying me of my acceptance to the program and without my consent! They were very rude on the phone and lied to me, insisting I was notified in writing of my acceptance. I said well if that is true, email/fax me a copy of the letter you sent right now. They could not produce a letter. I never heard of this before, having dealt with several universities in the past when applying for my undergraduate degree. I have a right to choose whether or not I go to a program once I am accepted and also to choose my own classes. They claimed there was a box I checked on the application that allowed them to do this. I never saw any such box. Then they told me it was a good thing I called now because if I had waited until January to "de-enroll" they would have sent bill collectors after me. What?!!! Don't waste your time and money on this place! read more

I started working at Concordia-Chicago in 2015, and I've noticed they have really turned around their image in the last few years. They have expanded their offering of academic degree programs, they've hired a lot of new smart and innovative staff and faculty, they show genuine care and support for students of all backgrounds, and they provide awesome theatre, music, sports, education, and other public events and programs for people in the surrounding communities. They are a smaller school, so there probably have been some growing pains since they've expanded, but there's really a lot of new stuff going on here, and I am proud to say I work here. read more

I hadn't gone to particularly great schools leading up to college so I didn't really know the difference. I thought, frankly, that all schools were dirty, poorly maintained, and mostly full of staff that had no objective but to get paid and feed their own egos, otherwise I would have left. Looking back, I feel sorry for the professors in the theology and music departments because they were practically the only ones who seemed to know or care what they were doing, and I can't imagine how they ended up there since they were obviously brilliant, passionate, interested in their students' development, and capable of a lot more than what was possible there. It must have been lonely. The aesthetics just looking at the campus itself are sadly symbolic. One of the art teachers used to refer to it as "Frankenstein architecture," pieced together and expanded over the years in a haphazard way that makes you wonder what on earth anyone was thinking in allowing that to happen. That's how Con U is in general, in my experience. Slapped together with an air of lack and desperation, half dead, and barely hanging on well enough to stagger around. The students of my age cohort were generally kind and likeable, but they were also the most conservative population of 18- to 22-year-olds I can imagine meeting. I found that it took a very particular personal style to really fit in. All my life I had been an outsider because I was religious, quiet, somewhat shy, and very studious, and I imagined I'd do well socially there as a result. However within the first two months of school my classmates discovered that I also wore a black leather jacket, listened to secular rock music rather than contemporary Christian bands, was a vegetarian, and celebrated Halloween, and it seemed like that was all actually different enough to make me seem like a rebel. I wasn't an unkind person at all - I was very gentle - but I got the distinct impression after a while that they still would've voted me most likely to bite the head off a rat. People were almost all still nice to me and I socialized with them all between classes, but I didn't make any close or lasting friendships at school. As I mentioned, music and theology classes were really the only ones that challenged me and expanded my skills in any meaningful way. Unfortunately neither of these areas was my major, and almost all other classes were frustrating at best. I know of no literary form that fits my intended supporting points other than the rant. My physics teacher couldn't read my name properly when it was right in front of him, much less teach me anything that I couldn't learn from the book on my own, and tried to intimidate me repeatedly. I think he was going either deaf or senile and was angry about it. I'm pretty sure college fine arts classes aren't supposed to bring the words "Romper Room" to mind, but I'd learned more challenging techniques in ninth grade. This college actually requires that students take PE - health and gym classes - for at least a couple of semesters, which seems like a potentially forward-thinking idea until you discover that it's not done in a way that particularly helps anyone. The staff barely helps the students learn sport skills at all, and if you want to be mocked by a professor in front of the whole class, all you have to do is have below-average upper body strength. (By the way, did you know a gym teacher can diagnose you with a heart condition by watching you run? They won't be right, but they can give you a diagnosis on the spot. Oh, the things you learn at Con U!) The psychology and sociology departments were so full of infighting and backbiting that it seemed like half the professors didn't even teach; they were too busy telling students how awful the other faculty members in their departments were. Assignments were generally busy work that I think were mostly there just so the professors could say they'd graded something and thus earned their pay, and they mostly seemed to be there because it was an easy job that left them plenty of time and energy to pull power trips on the students and each other. I felt patronized, belittled, and at times very much like psychological prey. Again, I was used to that from high school and before, so I didn't think much of it; it had seemed to me very early on that formal education was, in large part, an inherently abusive institution. Looking back, though, I realize it was mostly a waste of time, and advanced indoctrination into the idea that I had to take abuse from other people to get my needs met. Life skills, Con U style... The real fun starts in grad school though. I was a 4.0 student and never got my master's. The two years I spent trying were an education in *something*, but over a decade later I still haven't figured out quite what. I'll leave it to your imagination. Whatever you think up probably won't be much worse or stranger than what actually happened. read more

Worst program I have ever attended. The teachers do not know the content or what the assignments entail, as they do not write the courses, but are stuck in to implement them. They change assignments 2 days before they are due and make statements such as, "you don't teach reading in science" during an assignment about Common Core! Do not waste your money here. read more

didn't have a great experience and found them to be....well let me let you know what happened and you be the judge. i am an older student, and was going through a divorce. i was assaulted by my ex during winter break and made the mistake of mentioning it to a staff member. it was reported and i ended up being referred to the public safety director. i turned in all paperwork and let it be. incidentally i struck up a friendly relationship with one of my professors as we were around the same age. i had told him if you are uncomfortable ill back off. i never got told that. this past weekend my brother past from a stroke and i didn't know who else to get a hold of, so i let him know. the next thing i know, I'm in the assistant Dean's office because I text him too much, I'm signing a no contact order,and im being pushed to withdraw. read more

This is a great business school, with an excellent adjunct faculty staff and tenure professors. Highly recommend it.

I had a great experience. I learned a lot, and found this to be a much more beneficial learning experience than my BA in Cincinnati, even though it was an online program. Obtained MA in Ed. Leadership. Teachers were amazing, my principal internship was sufficiently challenging without being overwhelming. It was also awesome having the face-to-face interaction with my cohort. I've had no issue whatsoever with the financial department. Customer service was great also. 2 1/2 years later I've received my degree and it all happened without a hitch. I'm grateful, as I was very intimidated by the whole process of going back to school. read more

The students, professors, and community here are amazing. I was a student in the master's in instructional design, and I really enjoyed the courses and the opportunities to do real work. read more

Today in the lunch time I went to Concordia cafeteria with my friends and then I bought the meal card that use there. I even had to pay for using this area 156$ per 20 times. It price is crazy because if you get there, you can just eat junk food like hamburgers, fries, pizzas, laps, and some drinks that all. It is terrible since when I am just looking for these food, I might get heavy weight so we have to looking for fresh and healthy food, finally we found only one vegetable corner. We were happy now that we found some fresh foods, but it is also terrible. There were some salty ham, tuna, and cheeses, only two kind of vegetable. We did not have a chance where we could choose dishes, so we made a dish and then we sat at the table. Even though we tried to choose healthy food, we could not. The almost people who use Concordia cafeteria really want to eat more fresher and healthier foods than now, and if Concordia cafeteria is changed the better than now, more people will go to there. read more